A good and secure home Social housing policy and affordable rent - A city worth living in
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A city worth living in A good and secure home Social housing policy and affordable rent
2 © SenStadtUm Dear Berliners, Berlin is growing – and that makes me happy. In 2014, nearly 45,000 people have moved to our city. The Senate is expec- ting at least 250,000 additional Berliners by 2030: this means that a city the size of Braunschweig will join us over the next 15 years. This is a great opportunity for us because Berlin stands for innovation, diversity, cosmopolitanism and quality of life. The population growth offers future perspectives for everyo- ne. This not only brings us more companies and jobs but also greater financial freedom for necessary investments in our infrastructure for better traffic routes, strong public trans- port service, more parks, good schools and day-care centres. The persisting upswing of Berlin is also a big challenge. More people also means more need for housing and growing pres- sure on the existing housing market. I want that living in Ber- lin will also stay affordable in the future and that people have the possibility to live in all parts of the city. We can reach this goal with measures to curb rental prices and build new housing.
3 The municipal housing societies are strong partners for both kinds of measures. Together with them, the Senate entered the nationwide exemplary “Alliance for Social Housing Policy and Affordable Rent” at the end of 2012. The key objective of the Alliance is: securing good housing for broad segments of the population. There is nothing that cannot be improved even more, which is why we have advanced and expanded the Alliance. This flier is to inform you, as the tenants of municipal housing, of the current status. Yours sincerely, Andreas Geisel Senator for Urban Development and the Environment
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© Nikolaus Fürcho
Alliance for Berlin
In order to counteract the increasingly narrow market for af-
fordable living space, the Senate Department for Urban De-
velopment and the Environment and the Senate Department
of Finance have agreed to form the “Alliance for Social
Housing Policy and Affordable Rent” with the six municipal
housing societies in Berlin. The Alliance was signed on 4 Sep-
tember 2012 and is valid initially until 2016.
In late 2014, the partners – based on initial experiences – con-
tinued the measures and solution approaches, whereby they
ensure affordable housing in Berlin.
Berlin is growing
Especially in the sought-after central locations of the city, the
demand for rental accommodation is growing faster than the
supply. For this reason, the housing market reserves are
dwindling and rents are rising faster – especially in new buil-
dings, but also in existing buildings. The main reasons: our
city is growing. Increasingly many people are moving to Ber-
lin. At the same time, more and more Berliners are living alo-
ne. Already today, 54 percent of all Berlin households are
single-person households.
5
Strong partners take
countermeasures
The housing policy of the Berlin Senate
aims at keeping rents affordable in our
growing city and continuing to provide
adequate living space for households
Senatsverwaltung
with incomes that fall behind the gen- für Stadtentwicklung
und Umwelt
eral trend. The diversity and character
of individual neighbourhoods must be Senatsverwaltung
preserved, so that people with diffe- für Finanzen
rent income levels can continue to live
together.
Berlin’s municipal housing societies
are core partners in implementing this
urban development and housing poli-
cy. They create considerable benefits
for our city by
taking over more responsibility for
the growing city and increasing the
existing urban housing to 300,000
units by 2016 through acquisitions
and new construction,
helping to curb rental prices through
their own rent price policies and
strengthening tenant rights,
playing a leading role in renovating
buildings for energy efficiency and
climate protection, and
actively supporting social, demo-
graphic and cultural integration in
the neighbourhoods.
6 © STADTUNDLAND © HOWOGE New construction and acquisitions broaden the sphere of activity The municipal housing societies are investing strongly to in- crease their housing stock – with new construction and ac- quisitions. This is an ambitious goal but it is on track: by 2016, the municipal housing stock is to increase by at least 30,000 to 300,000 flats. The agreements under the Housing Alliance will apply directly upon the transfer of ownership also to the purchased residential units and the tenants living there. Modernisation in line with affordable rents Half a billion euro has been invested by the municipal housing societies in the modernisation and energy-related renovati- on of their flats. They thereby contribute a lot to modern li- ving remaining affordable for the long term. They limit the costs passed on to tenants, so that the tenants are not char- ged excessively. Moreover, they involve the tenants in the modernisation projects from the outset.
7 © GESOBAU © WBM Dedicated to strong neighbourhoods Social responsibility and strong neighbourhoods have priori- ty. With their commitment to education and culture in the inner-city neighbourhood, the municipal housing societies support cultural, social and demographic integration. Likewi- se, specific allocation of flats to people, who are qualified for a certificate of eligibility to public housing (WBS), contributes to stable neighbourhoods. In order to broaden cohesion in the neighbourhood and strengthen social and ethnic integra- tion, the municipal housing societies cooperate with the res- pective partners at the neighbourhood level. In the process, they work together in particular, with the district manage- ment on site and integrate their own projects or support the projects of third parties. Student housing To improve student housing, municipal housing societies are cooperating with Studentenwerk Berlin (Berlin student servi- ces) and offer designated student housing. A campaign informs of the offer, for example at www.wohnenfuer.berlin/jungeswohnen
8 © Gewobag © GESOBAU The most key points of the Rent Alliance To provide for broad sections of the population, the munici- pal housing societies offer living space at affordable rents. They strive to keep their rental prices at acceptable levels fol- lowing renovation and when concluding new contracts, as well. Lower-income households in particular should be able to find good and secure housing with the municipal housing societies. For this reason, the municipal housing societies have committed to a socially just and responsible rent policy under the Rent Alliance. They limit their general rent increases in privately funded housing to a maximum of 15 percent within four years, insofar as the Berlin rent index permits. The municipal housing societies limit building modernisa- tion contributions in privately funded housing to a maxi- mum of nine percent of the expenses per year. Rents should continue to be affordable also after modernisation. Therefore, the net rent without ancillary costs following a modernisation measure should not exceed the locally common reference rent (plus the saved operating costs). To protect households with weaker incomes, it is ensured
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© STADTUNDLAND
on fulfilment of social criteria that the net rent without
ancillary cost after modernisation does not exceed 30 per-
cent of the household’s net income.
Whenever new rental agreements are concluded for the
first time, the housing societies rent every second flat
within the S-Bahn ring and every third flat outside of the
ring at the local reference rent to households, which have
a certificate of eligibility to public housing (“WBS”).
A joint pool of flats is to make fair exchanges of flats pos-
sible if a tenant is looking for a flat that is at least ten
percent smaller than the present one. In the case of an
exchange, the housing societies guarantee that the new
gross rent including ancillary costs is below that of the old
flat – with comparable equipment, modernisation state
and location. If social criteria are fulfilled, single-person
households can receive 1,500 euro, two-person households
2,000 euro, and households with three and more persons
2,500 euro as a one-off allowance for moving. Relocation
officers help with the flat exchange and organise a com-
prehensive relocation management at the six housing so-
cieties.
10 © HOWOGE © WBM The moving allowance is granted only if the move takes place within an urban housing society. The allowance is paid by the relevant housing society. An individual solution will be sought for tenants who are unable, for financial or other social reasons, to bear a rent increase. Following a rent increase and on fulfilment of social criteria, the net rent without ancillary costs should not exceed 30 percent of the household’s net income, pro- vided the number of household members is appropriate for the flat size (for example, 45 qm for single-person households, 60 qm for two-person households), and that the household’s income is within the limits defined by Ber- lin (for example, 16,800 euro/year for single-person households, 25,200 euro/year for two-person households) for receiving a certificate of eligibility to public housing (“WBS”). If social criteria are fulfilled, a limit of 27 percent of the household’s income applies to households, which bear above-average operating costs (=energy requirement va- lue of the building >170 kWh per qm/year). The precise
11 © GESOBAU © degewo energy requirement value is assessed by the housing soci- ety as specific to the relevant building and the tenant is informed of it. Tenants, who have to master a difficult personal situation, receive further relief. If particular circumstances of life or the specific layout of the flat require that larger floor spaces be allocated, limits of tolerance of up to 20 percent apply. Hardship provisions for pregnant women and single pa- rents who are dependent on their social environment, for senior citizens, people with disabilities, caregivers and sick or bereaved people ensure that other private issues of hardship, besides income can be taken into consideration for rent increases. These individual solutions also apply to flats of municipal housing where increases of the rent are due to the sche- duled reduction of public funding. A legal right is not established.
Senate Department for Urban Development
and the Environment
Section IV
Housing, Urban Renewal, Socially Integrative City
Württembergische Straße 6
10707 Berlin
Exhibition and Information Centre
of the Senate Department
for Urban Development and the Environment
Am Köllnischen Park 3, 10179 Berlin
U-Bahn lines U2, Märkisches Museum,
U8, Jannowitzbrücke or Heinrich-Heine-Straße
S-Bahn lines S5, S7, S75, Jannowitzbrücke
Bus lines 147, 248, 265,
U-Bahn station Märkisches Museum
Exhibition room
of the Senate Department
for Urban Development and the Environment
Württembergische Straße 6, 10707 Berlin
U-Bahn lines U3, U7, Fehrbelliner Platz
Bus lines 101, 104, 115, Fehrbelliner Platz
www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de
More information: www.wohnenfuer.berlin
Status: March 2015
Coverphoto: © Nikolaus Fürcho
Kommunikation
Württembergische Straße 6
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